Abstract
AN EASY METHOD OF FINDING LATITUDE.—The Observatory for June contains an article by N. Liapin on a method of finding latitude which is interesting and a useful exercise lor astronomical students, and requires no other instrument than a watch. The method consists simply in observing the number of seconds between first and last contacts of the sun with the horizon at sunrise or sunset. The formula for solution given by the author is cos2 latitude = sin2 (sun's decl.) + 4 (sun's radius)2/(time interval)2, where the radius and time interval must be expressed in the same units. This formula does not take account of the change of sun's decl. in the interval; a correction for this may readily be made.
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Our Astronomical Column. Nature 105, 625 (1920). https://doi.org/10.1038/105625a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/105625a0
